End of Happiness and Starting Anew
by HPKensai
Summary: The sixth year following OotP. Mysteries start to fold, and roses blossom?
1. The Not So Very Depressing Birthday

font face="Comic Sans MS" color="blue" size="3"End of Happiness and Starting Anew  
  
Chapter 1  
  
The Not-So-Very Depressing Birthdayblockquote Harry sat in his room in unhappiness. The Dursley's had locked his door, and though Harry was confident that he could open it, the death of Black still played upon his mind. Played upon his conscious, and Harry could not deal with any more pain or torment. He stared at the wall, replaying the memory of Cedric's death, Sirius's being too hard for him to remember. He flinched as his memory brought him to the curse Voldemort had placed on Cedric. "iAvada KedavraiHarry lowered his wand slightly and glanced sideways at Cedric. Cedric shot him a quizzical look. They both turned to watch the approaching figure.  
  
It stopped beside a towering marble headstone, only six feet from them. For a second, Harry and Cedric and the short figure simply looked at one another.  
  
And then, without warning, Harry's scar exploded with pain. It was agony such as he had never felt in all his life; his wand slipped from his fingers as he put his hands over his face; his knees buckled; he was on the ground and he could see nothing at all; his head was about to split open.  
  
From far away, above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say, "/iKill the spare.i"  
  
A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words to the night: "/iAvada Kedavra!i"  
  
A blast of green light blazed through Harry's eyelids, and he heard something heavy fall to the ground beside him; the pain in his scar reached such a pitch that he retched, and then it diminished; terrified of what he was about to see, he opened his stinging eyes.  
  
Cedric was lying spread-eagled on the ground beside him. He was dead./blockquote  
  
Tears were slowly sliding down Harry's cheeks unheeded; Harry was too unhappy to do anything about it. His consciousness slipped away slowly. Suddenly, he awoke with a start, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the window as a few owls started rapping on it, and he almost cursed them into oblivion.  
  
"/i Oh. Just owls," Harry muttered to himself. "I'm getting too jumpy. Must be the memories." He started thinking of them again, but quickly took them out of his mind. Harry walked over and opened the window. It was very close to midnight, on the thirtieth of July. Harry had forgotten that his birthday was only a few minutes away. The owls fluttered in and Pig swooped past Harry's ear, dropping a couple of packages on Harry's bed and settling himself on Hedwig's perch and grabbed some water. Hedwig was out sending a letter to Dumbledore. Harry had already forgotten what the letter said, and he ignored it. He walked over to the few owls that he did not recognize, and took off the packages. One stayed and demanded payment, and Harry fished through his stuff, inadvertently finding a few sickles in a pocket.  
  
"Here," Harry whispered to the owl. "Go back to wherever you came from. You've done your job." The owl looked at Harry in total bewilderment and Harry's face became quite pale when he realized what he said to the owl. He murmured a slight apology and the owl left. Harry walked over to his bed, which now had over half a dozen packages on it, all for Harry. He sighed and delved into the first gift.  
  
It was from Ron. He had a long, winded, un-Ron-like letter. Harry read it, noting that Mrs. Weasley was still attempting to get Harry to go to the Burrow for the month of August. Harry smiled the first true smile since he had returned to Privet Drive, and proceeded into the actual gift.  
  
"Wow, Ron..." Harry whispered, his voice trailing off farther than thought possible. Harry gingerly picked up the item that was inside. It was a box, about the size of a glasses case. Harry placed it on his bed and found an instruction manual in the wrappings. He looked at it, and gasped when he saw what it was. A Box of Holding. It was quite uncommon to have one, and Harry wondered how Ron had gotten one. Harry skimmed through the piece of paper, and looked at one section in particular. It was on what was supposed to go into the box. Harry looked at the paper in disbelief, and reread the section over five times. The box was credited to be the only one of its kind. The owner was supposed to place an object of great importance given to the owner from someone important. Harry stared at the box for a few seconds, then unwillingly placed it under the loose floor board, the instructions securely attached to the bottom of it.  
  
He found a letter with the Hogwarts symbol on it, though it was not addressed like the usual letters he got from them. Harry looked at it apprehensively, then turned it over and saw a name placed on the back of the envelope. /i. Harry stared at the letter in shock. He slowly opened the envelope and looked at the letter.  
  
iDear Harry,  
  
I know this must be a troubling time for you. We in the Order are, sorrowfully, still keeping tabs about you. Mad-Eye still thinks that you are in trouble, even though no one has even heard a single thing from Voldemort and all the Death Eaters have mysteriously disappeared. Not any of the children though, so you will still have to watch out for Draco when you get back. He should be quite disgruntled though, now that his father is gone.  
  
To cheer you up, perhaps, Dumbledore has recently recruited me for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher once again, and he has informed me that I will have to teach an Advanced class, for very few students. You, Ron and Hermione are all included in this list, so I have been informed. There are a few others, but Dumbledore has surprisingly not picked any Slytherins.  
  
Now that I just, hopefully, brought up your dismal mood, I must now bring it crashing down. You must not go to Hogsmeade this year. There is a dreadful thing happening there, though only those who are currently aware of the Order are informed. We do not know what is happening down there, but we can't be too careful. Sorry.  
  
I'll see you when term starts. Oh, and I think that Dumbledore has suggested that you stay at the Leaky Cauldron for the next month. There should be a Port-Key in the envelope that will activate at 3:00 PM on the first of August. See you in Hogwarts!  
  
centerProfessor Remus Lupin  
  
Order of the Phoenix/blockquote  
  
Harry looked at the letter in astonishment. Lupin was going to be a professor again at Hogwarts. He could barely contain his excitement at this new overturned card, but it was muffled by the annoyance at not being allowed to Hogsmeade. He looked again in the envelope and pulled out a small ring. It was a golden band with indecipherable writing on it and after a few minutes of looking at the words, Harry then moved to letter two of three from Hogwarts. It looked exactly the same as Lupin's envelope, except that it was addressed to Harry Potter, ATTN:Animagi Training.  
  
Harry stared at the front of the envelope for a couple of seconds. He shakily turned it over and slit the envelope open. He pulled out the letter and read it, ignoring his shaking hands.  
  
iMr. Harry Potter,  
  
As Head of Gryffindor House and the Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts, I would like to ask you to take the specific course of Animagi Training. You have done well with your career at Hogwarts in Transfiguration - /i(at this, Harry choked) i - and have been accepted into this fine art. We are not positive that you will have a form, however, so do not expect to become an Animagus. You are to acquire /iThe Animagus: Beginningsi, along with the rest of the required sixth-year books.  
  
See you September 1/sup, and I hope to see you in Animagi Training.  
  
centerProfessor Minerva McGonagall  
  
Head of Gryffindor House/blockquote  
  
Harry looked at the letter like his birthday had come early, though it was really his birthday by now. He was shaking as he placed the letter down and moved on to the normal letter from Hogwarts, detailing the requirements for a sixth year taking N.E.W.T. level Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Charms. He skimmed the letter's contents, and then proceeded to Hermione's gift.  
  
He read the letter she had written, wondering how the owl had even been able to fly with the five parchment, double-sided novel. Harry smiled again, the second real smile he had made since the activities of the previous year, and opened the carefully wrapped package. There was a distinct fluttering feeling in his stomach as he slowly unsealed the paper, and he looked at the object with curiosity.  
  
It was a curiously designed ring, made of what Harry guessed was platinum and was carefully engraved on the inner portion of the band with an inscription. iThe Wielder of this Ring will have access to many unforetold peculiarities./i Harry inspected it closer, and saw inside the blood red gem a carving of a phoenix. Hermione did not explain the gift in her letter, and he looked at it thoroughly before sliding it on his right ring finger. He felt a flare of power and something he could not put his finger on slide up his arm and to the left side of his chest, over his heart. This, however did not occur to him to be where his heart was, and he saw another wrapped package inside of the already small one Hermione had given him.  
  
He gasped and held the small item in his hand. It was an intricately designed statuette of a phoenix and a lion standing beside one another. It also had an engravement that Harry could clearly read, though it was too small to be logically read.   
  
iThe Phoenix and the Lion of the Powered Blood will become one.  
  
One of the few prophecies of Sybill Trelawney/center  
  
He unconsciously opened the Box that Ron had given him and placed the statuette inside of it. He closed the box and all of a sudden felt something inside him, as if some living creature was attuning itself to him, so that he could be invaded. But it did not feel like an invasion at all. Harry had a feeling that the Box was designed to connect the owner and the giver of the object, but it was a fleeting thought, one that was quickly forgotten as he looked to the other gifts.  
  
He received a gruff apology from Percy about what he had told Ron to do the previous year, and the many things he had previously done. Harry smiled as he read the letter, but pointedly ignored writing a response. Ginny had gotten him a book on ancient magic and the Weasley parents sent Harry a couple of sweets. iBut not so many so that you become sick. Molly and I had an argument over that, and she won,/i was what Mr. Weasley said apologetically in his letter. Harry smiled at his gifts, and replaced the Box under the loose floor board, along with the other gifts Harry got, excluding the ring he had received.  
  
Harry slid into bed, and for the first time since his fourth year, he slept peacefully, and was quite awake the next morning.  
  
hr  
  
Hermione sat awake in her room. She would normally have been asleep except for two things. One, an owl had delivered three letters from Hogwarts, almost the same ones Harry had gotten, coincidentally. Two, she couldn't seem to fall back into the comfort of the covers and pillow on which she was used to sleeping. Something strange had happened, and she was curious as to what had created the awkward feeling. It was curiously like she was bonding with someone, but she couldn't tell with whom she was bonding. She secretly hoped it was Harry, but she would never have told anyone. She did not think that he could possibly like her in that way. It was depressing, thinking that you could never tell your best friend your deepest secrets and feelings, but Hermione felt as if with whomever she now shared this curious link could detect her every feeling.  
  
Suddenly, she was flooded with a warm feeling, one that must have been happiness, love and contentedness all in one. She smiled feebly, and she slowly drifted off into the land of sleep.  
  
hr  
  
Harry awoke the next morning to being happy and expectant. It was his birthday. He knew that the Dursley's would not celebrate it with him, but he was happy nonetheless. He unconsciously rubbed the new ring with his left hand, his fingers slowly sliding over its perfect quality. He felt a rush of energy, as if he had just woken up, or as if he had just gotten an adrenaline rush, and then a warm feeling, not so far away from the feeling Hermione had felt just that morning.  
  
He dressed and slid down to the kitchen, where Petunia looked at Harry.  
  
"Sit," she commanded, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Alright, Boy. Vernon and I have been talking. You are to be treated as a member of our family. But, you will still have special... jobs. This Albus person has informed me that you will be leaving tomorrow for some apartment. He has also informed me that you will be taking extra classes and the like. We will attempt our best at being civil to you for the rest of the few awfully long hours that we must spend together. Breakfast is on the counter. Eat." She walked briskly out of the room and away from a perfectly happy Harry.  
  
Harry figured that the comments made by Moody and the Weasleys were the reasons that the Dursley's were doing this, but Harry didn't care. He could now come and go as he pleased, and not worry about it. He grabbed his breakfast and ate it. It was probably the worst food that Petunia had ever cooked, but Harry seemed not to notice. His mind was elsewhere, not at the house. There were floods of pure emotion that seemed to overwhelm him, and he was starting to wonder from where they were coming. He knew that it was because of the object that he placed in the Box, but he was avoiding the idea that it was Hermione to whom he was connected. He stayed in his room for most of the day, looking at all of his books, writing thank you letters to Ron, Hermione and the few others and doing his summer work, essays and other things needed for his high leveled classes.  
  
hr  
  
Hermione awoke late, as a wave of pure happiness assaulted her mind and she couldn't stay asleep for any longer. Something was happening, and Hermione was no longer worried about it, her unnatural curiosity had taken over. She decided to try to think a thought to the person to whom she was connected. /i she thought animatedly. iIs anyone there?/i Nothing happened. She looked a little unhappy, but not at all discouraged. She then concentrated on an emotion, and became quite serene. A feeling of questioning returned, and she tried to find a feeling with which to send to the person. She finally got quite annoyed, not finding a suitable emotion, and unconsciously thought of a picture of herself, from which she got a response of shock.  
  
Hermione was confused for a second, until a picture overtook her sight, leaving her quite blind except for the picture. She gasped and almost fell off of her chair as she saw a picture of Harry, his emerald eyes flashing with an inner light. She unconsciously clutched at her heart and waves of love protruded from her mind, flowing into Harry's mind. She tried to stop them, tried to not tell Harry what she was hoping that he would not know, not yet. Her attempts went futile, as the picture of Harry was burned into her mind and she could not stop thinking of him.  
  
A feeling of pure happiness overtook her, and she wondered for half a second from where the feeling had come. Then she closed her eyes and saw a peaceful color with a distinct attachment of Harry. She then did fall, and expected to hit the ground. She kept her eyes closed and braced herself for the impact.  
  
hr  
  
Harry was not surprised that he had a bond with Hermione, however new it was. He felt a pang of fear come from her, and then clearly saw her fall out of her chair. She was not falling at a good angle, and if she would be allowed to hit the ground, she would easily injure herself severely. However, Harry would not have this, and he struggled for a second to try to stop her.  
  
Suddenly, Harry caught Hermione in his arms, and realized that he was in her room, and that she was just under a half a centimeter from cracking open her skull on the ground. He felt Hermione jump in shock, and she looked up at him, right into his eyes. Something happened to them, and the sat there for a few seconds just looking at each other lovingly. She was about to move closer and hug him, but she was slowly lowered to the ground as Harry faded away.  
  
Harry looked around, confused. He had just been next to Hermione, and he had gotten lost in her deep brown eyes. He shook his head and growled ferally, but kept his head level. He walked downstairs for dinner, the last one he would have to eat with the Dursleys.  
  
hr  
  
Hermione looked around in shock. Harry had just faded from her room. She could sense confusion from him, then a twinge of anger as his feelings slowly dispersed. She sighed. She hadn't been imagining it as she had thought. She sat on the floor of her room, contemplating what happened as her mother called her down to dinner. She would have to contact Harry soon about this, perhaps they could figure something out.  
  
She saw Hedwig glide softly into her room, and she untied the letter that was obviously from Harry. She opened it, and read the words he had written earlier that day.  
  
iHermione,  
  
How's your summer? I'm having an exceptional time here at the Dursleys. They are for once acting civilly to me! Lupin wrote to me about an Advanced class. I think I'm going to take that, along with Animagi Training. Did you get a letter about that? I hope so, I don't really want to take the class without you. I'll be going to the Leaky Cauldron for August, so maybe we could meet to go to Diagon Alley? You can just drop me a line, I'll probably wander around anyway. Come visit maybe, if you have time. Write back soon!  
  
/blockquote  
  
Hermione's heart fluttered at reading the letter. She felt a pleasurable feeling slide through her spine, and she went down to her kitchen to get dinner. 


	2. The Leaky Cauldron

font color="blue" face="Comic Sans MS" size="5"Chapter 2  
  
The Leaky CauldronblockquoteThe onset of depression from the previous morning was entirely forgotten by August 1/sup. Harry slid down the stairs into the kitchen. He had had a good day yesterday, and he wasn't about to let the Dursley's slaughter his up beat mood. Harry's smile was in no way infectious when he arrived at the table. Uncle Vernon was sitting in his chair reading the newspaper, and Dudley was trying to sneak more food while his mother was not looking. Harry slid into his chair at the table and started eating his food.  
  
"Boy," Vernon started. "You say that you're leaving today. What time." Vernon did not ask the question. He just stated a command.  
  
"The Port-Key activates at three this afternoon."  
  
"Good. Then you can stay away from us once noon hits," Vernon said, not even showing that he was conscious of talking to Harry. "We've decided that we will be going out at noon. You will stay in the house, Boy. Don't fool around with anything, y'hear?"  
  
Harry nodded, his mouth full of food. Vernon grunted and grabbed his glass of orange juice. He downed it in one gulp and continued reading the paper. Dudley had not succeeded at obtaining any food, and Harry was positively excited. He knew how important it was to stay in the house with the last of his blood relation, but it was sometimes a little too complicated living with Muggles. Harry sighed and got up, setting his plate in the sink. He would normally have started cleaning it, but he just walked up to his room, wanting to get away from the Dursley's as much as possible.  
  
Harry cleaned his room up, taking care of the assorted clothes and other objects and making the room look unused, except for the bed and trunk. The trunk would be going with Harry and so would Hedwig's cage. Hedwig still hadn't returned from sending Hermione's letter, and Dumbledore had not given Hedwig an immediate response. Harry suspected that Dumbledore would send him a letter when he arrived at the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
Harry absently picked up the Box. He held it in his hands, his fingers swept across the intricate workmanship of the design. It was a mahogany box, engraved with a creature that Harry knew he had seen before, but he couldn't place it. iI'll just have to talk to Hagrid about it when term starts,/i Harry decided. Harry slowly opened the box and peered at the statuette inside. The box seemed to have adjusted itself to the statuette, and it fit perfectly along the edges, indents so that it was obvious that only one item could fit inside it. Harry wondered fleetingly if it was possible to change the item in the box, but the instructions heavily cautioned against changing the item. He pulled out the item gingerly, and marveled at its own intricacy. The Phoenix and Lion seemed to have changed places, however. Now, the Phoenix and Lion seemed to share a bond that could not be replicated by any other. At the same time, the Phoenix was protecting the Lion as the Lion was doing the same.  
  
Harry felt a shiver go through himself, and he quickly reposed the statuette back in the Box, closing it and putting it into his trunk. Harry sat in silence for the most of a minute, casually turning as he heard Hedwig tap lightly on his window. Harry walked to the window and let Hedwig in. Hedwig hooted softly and hopped onto his shoulder as Harry untied the letter on her leg. It was from Hermione. Harry opened it and read.  
  
iHarry-  
  
My summer is going just fine. Professors Lupin and McGonagall, you should really call him Professor now, Harry, both sent me letters as well. Of course we can go to Diagon Alley together. I was planning to go next week. I tried to get it so that the Weasleys could be there as well, but Ron says that they are going to be visiting Charlie back in Romania. I heard that Professor Moody was not happy to see Charlie leave.  
  
I guess he didn't have much of a choice there, so Charlie has gone. Meet me in front of Gringotts at noon on the 8th?  
  
/blockquote  
  
Harry realized that Hermione purposely ignored the bond they seemed to have acquired. Harry sighed and motioned for Hedwig to leave the room.  
  
"I'll be in the Leaky Cauldron. Go have a good flight." Hedwig hooted her thanks and soared off on the horizon. Harry grabbed his trunk and held the Port-Key in his hand. He felt a pull at his navel, and instead of appearing at the Leaky Cauldron, everything went black.  
  
hr  
  
Hermione gasped when she got an owl from Hagrid. He rarely owled her, and she instinctively knew that it was about Harry. He had either been very unemotional recently, or he was probably not conscious. She picked up the letter and read the sloppy handwriting with puffy eyes.  
  
iHermione,  
  
Sorry for the short letter. Dumbledore asked me to tell you Harry can't be found. He never made it to the Leaky Cauldron. We're searchin' for him right now. I'll owl you when we know where he is.  
  
/blockquote  
  
Virtually seconds later, Hermione did not even have a chance to start crying, another owl flew through the window. She took the letter off of its leg, and read the letter.  
  
iHermione,  
  
We've found him. Yeah, I know I just sent you a letter, but Dumbledore just informed me of his status. He's in room 35A at St. Mungos. We don't know what happened. Should be a Port-key there for you. Just put it on your left pointer finger, and you'll appear outside of Mungos.  
  
/blockquote  
  
Hermione reached inside of the envelope and found a small band of platinum. She ran up to her room, grabbed her wand, iJust in case,/i she thought, and put the band on her pointer finger.  
  
hr  
  
"Mum! Why can't I see Harry!" Ron was almost screaming at his mother. His face's colour was that of his hair. His breathing was heavy and there was a flame of rage in his eyes. His mother just ignored him, continuing on iGilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Daisies, Rhododendrons, and Other Household Plants/i.  
  
At the exact same time that Fred and George rushed through the door, Hermione appeared in the lobby, in the exact state in which Harry was. Ron stared at her body, lying on the cold tiles, crumpled in a virtually impossible posture. Fred froze, and George tackled him accidentally, and they both fell on the ground next to Hermione, getting some pretty good kisses from the ground. Mr. Weasley looked at Hermione weirdly, wondering from where she was coming and why she wasn't moving. Mrs. Weasley looked up late, noticing the overall silence of the room, and hearing the flop as Hermione hit the ground, Mrs. Weasley was the first to move towards Hermione, not including the incapacitated twins.  
  
"Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley asked tentatively. After she realized that Hermione was not up to speaking, or breathing, for that matter, Mrs. Weasley attempted to stay calm and shook Hermione softly, but roughly. Hermione did not budge, except when she was shaking because Mrs. Weasley was making her. Ginny happened to walk in the door at that exact moment and, when she saw Hermione, she screamed. Ron, the farthest from Ginny, caught her, and held her as much as for comfort as to keep her from getting to his mother.  
  
Mrs. Weasley slowly walked up to the counter with Hermione's sagging body in her arms.  
  
"Excuse me," she said in a commanding, but teary and soft voice, "you have another patient with the exact symptoms as Mr. Potter."  
  
"Oh?" asked the receptionist. "And how would you kn-" She stopped short as she saw Hermione. "Put her on the bed next to Mr. Potter's, would you?"  
  
Mrs. Weasley nodded shallowly and brought Hermione into the room. She walked slowly to the bed touching Harry's and softly placed Hermione down, never taking her eyes off of her almost, but not quite, adopted son. She let go of Hermione and quickly slid out of the room, not noticing Hermione's arm brush against Harry's.  
  
Ron looked at his mother as she walked out of the room with tears falling to the floor, making spots on the ground. He could tell she was sad; it wasn't exactly obvious that she liked Harry. Except when you consider how many times Harry has been released from one of her hugs virtually suffocated. She walked back to her chair slowly, and then started as Ron gasped audibly.  
  
"M- mum?" he asked tentatively. "What happened in there?"  
  
hr  
  
It was dark and Harry could see nothing. He tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't. They seemed to be shut closed, seemed as if he couldn't control his body. As he waited, he did not know how long he sat, waiting, he felt someone approach him, an aura he knew.  
  
/i he tried to say slowly, as he thought it. He realized that he wasn't to be heard, and he mentally hit himself in frustration.  
  
iHarry? Wha- what happened? Where are we? Why are we here? How d'you-/i  
  
iYOU HEARD ME?!/i  
  
iHarry... that hurt./i  
  
iOh... sorry,/i Harry would have blushed as red as Ron's hair, but seeing as he did not have much in the way of cheeks to blush with, he didn't. iI- I don't know how we got here... I just remember taking the Port-key to... the Leaky Cauldron.../i Harry's thoughts trailed off.  
  
/i Hermione thought skeptically. iBut that's what I used... oh./i  
  
Harry felt a jolt, as if someone was lightly brushing his arm, and all of a sudden his eyes popped open. He gave an audible gasp and sat straight up. He felt someone move on his left and realized that Hermione was sitting next to him, rubbing her eyes. She hadn't seen Harry yet.  
  
Harry felt for his glasses, and they were sitting on his face. Hermione looked right at Harry and her eyes locked with Harry's emerald green ones.  
  
Harry broke the long stare and ferociously hugged Hermione. Hermione jumped in shock and then proceeded to hug Harry back.  
  
"Harry... what happened?"  
  
Harry looked at her sheepishly. "The Port-key incident?"  
  
Hermione looked hesitant, then shook her head.  
  
"It can probably wait then... I have a feeling that the sooner I get out of this room, the less likely I am to be back in here," he said, stopping Hermione from responding, and also placing a smile on her face as she figured that Mrs. Weasley would be the first one to get to Harry.  
  
Harry was the first to the door, and he heard Ron gasp from behind his mother.  
  
"M- mum?" he asked tentatively. "What happened in there?"  
  
Mrs. Weasley straightened at his comment, then turned around. She saw Harry and Hermione standing at the door. Hermione was slightly behind Harry and she was blushing slightly. Only Ginny noticed, but she was too teary eyed to be positive that she saw Hermione blushing or not.  
  
"HARRY!!!" Mrs. Weasley screamed and tackled Harry with a bear hug, which Hermione was caught in, but Mrs. Weasley couldn't tell. "Are you all right? What happened?" Mrs. Weasley ran off questions faster than Harry could keep up with and he just smiled weakly at her. Then her onslaught slowed and she saw Hermione. Hermione was in a bear hug, which, inadvertently and not to break tradition, happened to have Harry in as well.  
  
"HERMIONE!!!" Mrs. Weasley screamed. She then proceeded to rapid fire off the exact same questions she had asked Harry, and let go of both of them. Ron slowly walked over to Harry and looked at him.  
  
"Harry... did you really grow that much over the summer?" he asked, looking up, yes up, at Harry. Harry shrugged and smiled slightly. Ron didn't bother to ask Harry if he was alright, he figured his mother had overused the question. He hesitated for a second before pulling Harry and Hermione into a huge bear hug. Hermione looked at Ron, fully two inches shorter than his 5'9" frame(I don't know the metric, I would appreciate a translation, maybe?). She smiled and looked to Ginny, who was lost for words as she watched Hermione pull her into a hug.  
  
"Hermione?" the shorter girl asked, looking up at the face of her friend. Hermione smiled and let go of Ginny. She grabbed Ginny's arm and pulled her over to Ron and Harry. Harry smiled at her slightly and made a gesture not much unlike a wave. "But... what... what happened?"Both Harry and Hermione shrugged and smiled larger.  
  
"We don't know Ginny," Harry said, speaking for the first time. He looked like he was going to say more, but jumped at the sound of his voice. Hermione looked at him curiously, and Ginny was thoroughly entranced by the sing-songyness of his voice. Mrs. Weasley was also affected, but the rest of the Weasley family did not react.  
  
"Harry, what ha-" Hermione stopped short, hearing her own voice, and hearing the same quality in it. She gasped and put her hands on her mouth as Ron and all the Weasley men present became as entranced with her voice as Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were with Harry's. Harry, however, just looked at Hermione, slightly amused.  
  
"Well, Hermione," he said with a small laugh. "Now I'm truly curious as to what happened..." Hermione looked at Harry and nodded her agreement. Her hand slipped unconsciously into Harry's hand, her fingers intertwining with his fingers. Harry's only reaction was to raise his eyebrow's at Hermione, and she blushed, realizing what she had done.  
  
"Her- Hermione?" Ron asked cautiously.  
  
There was a /b and Dumbledore appeared in the room. He gave Harry and Hermione a smug-like smile.  
  
"Well, it looks as if the latest prophecy of Sybill has come true, or part of it at least." Dumbledore smiled, not missing a beat. Harry and Hermione looked at him curiously. "Part of it, at least. It seems that the entire prophecy has yet to come forth. Please inform me if things do begin to change, will you?" Harry and Hermione nodded, confused. "Good. I shall see you at the beginning of the term then. Goodbye." And with a loud /b he was gone, and the receptionist did not even notice him.  
  
"I'll call in the doctor," she drawled, "and he can assess your conditions and decide if you can leave." Mrs. Weasley thanked her and turned to Ron.  
  
"Ron," she started. "I would like to talk to you privately." Ron grumbled, but obediently walked over to his mother. Mrs. Weasley pulled him aside and started talking to him.  
  
Harry pulled Hermione over to the side and started whispering in her ear.  
  
"So, what did you want to talk about before?"  
  
"Harry... uhh... I think I've been having a bad dream for the past few weeks... else that or I'm not dreaming," she stuttered softly, hoping that Harry wouldn't think her crazy. Instead, he smiled.  
  
"What, this?" he asked, an Hermione felt a rush of excitement, tinged with something that she couldn't identify. Then all of a sudden it was gone, and Harry's cheeks turned fierce red. Hermione looked at him, confused. "Sorry, that got slightly out of hand."  
  
"Its OK," she said, then realized exactly what that tinge was. She blushed as fiercely as Harry did and he put his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Thanks," he responded. "I can, I think, stop it, y'know, if you want."  
  
"Stop what?"  
  
"This... emotion thing."  
  
"No," she said, smiling. "Its not that bad."  
  
Harry smiled back and hugged her softly, then let go. He looked toward Ron and Mrs. Weasley, but they were still deep in conversation. Ginny was looking at Harry and Hermione with a hurt, but unsurprised gaze.  
  
"I'd better go talk to her," Hermione sighed. Harry smiled, and looked around the room.  
  
"I think I should leave now, Hermione," Harry said. Hermione turned to look at him. "Still meet in Diagon Alley?" Hermione smiled and nodded.  
  
No one but Ginny saw Harry leave the room.  
  
hr  
  
Harry arrived at the Leaky Cauldron half an hour later. He walked in and the man at the bar smiled at him.  
  
"Harry Potter?" he asked in a gruff voice.  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"Yer stuff's in yer room. Here's the key."  
  
Harry took the key and looked at the number on it. /i. He was in room 548. Harry walked up the stairs and to the Floo transporter. He grabbed some of the powder and threw it in the fire. He walked into the flames and shouted his room number. He rolled out of the fireplace in his room and silently stood up. He stood there for a couple seconds, wondering when and how he learned how to fall out of the fireplace, then recovered and settled in for the night.  
  
hr  
  
Hermione sat in bed, pondering the events of the past few days. Only tomorrow she would be going to Diagon Alley to see Harry again. Every time she though of his eyes, she suppressed a shudder, which took its course down her spine. She'd always imagined what it would be like to look into someone's eyes, and see the love that was in Harry's eyes. She focused on his emotions, and sensed that he was asleep, sleeping peacefully. Then she felt the same tinge again in his emotions, and she grew very curious as to what he was dreaming.  
  
She sighed and her mind grew still, as sleep overtook her. The day had been draining, and she was needing the rest for the next day.  
  
On her driveway, a cat prowled. It walked back and forth, waiting for something. It had markings around its eyes like glasses. A second later, an old looking man appeared and walked over to the cat. He pulled out a lighter like object and clicked it a couple of times, enough so that all the lights mysteriously turned off.  
  
"It's nice to see you, Minerva."  
  
The cat stole a glance at Dumbledore, then Minerva McGonagall appeared in the cat's place.  
  
"She seems to be asleep, Albus. How is Harry?"  
  
"Harry has been asleep for some time now. It looks like Sybill isn't as bad a Seer as we thought. She's just awfully sporadic," Dumbledore chuckled.  
  
Minerva glared at him. "So, what will happen to them?" she asked in a softer tone. "I mean, their lives won't be the same anymore. They're different from the rest of us."  
  
"Harry's used to it," Dumbledore said, looking thoughtful. "Think about his entire life. He's always been different."  
  
"Yes, but, Hermione hasn't. Not until she got the letter..." Minerva's voice trailed off, and she sighed.  
  
"Just keep watch on her, and I'll watch Harry, alright?"  
  
Minerva nodded her head slowly. The meeting ended exactly as it had outside of 4 Privet Drive, so long ago, when Harry was only one.  
  
Hermione stirred in her sleep. She'd always imagined what it would be like to look into someone's eyes and see love. She'd just never been able to identify how hard it would be to love that person as well./blockquote 


End file.
